Oh dear... just when you think one of your childhood heroes is going to make a splash on your new favourite console, you're presented with both a clear use of Gen AI and the company that made the game denying its use, and all before you've had a cup of tea!
I loved James Bond as a kid; I would keep my Sega Mega Drive on all night just so I could carry on playing again in the morning, and the way the games were made and the storyline were both amazing. It has its own legacy, a legacy that should have been looked after and brought back to us with care, not desecrated with AI slop.
I should say at this point that System 3 Software has claimed that they haven't used Gen AI in the cover for the game, any of the new character art, or the trailer for the game. Come on, have you seen the artwork in this article so far? Have you watched the trailer? I'm sorry, but there's more Gen AI here than in Jason Paige's new game cover, and that's saying something!
Following accusations, James Pond Legacy devs say no generative AI was used in creating artwork https://t.co/5Ivg5sMkXI pic.twitter.com/UuB8Wu3K1z
— GoNintendoTweet (@GoNintendoTweet) August 19, 2026
I can't defend this, and once you've seen the trailer below, you'll understand why. There's no thought or energy been put into this trailer; it's like they've gone 'James Pond will sell itself, let's just let the name do the talking and leave the rest to AI'.
In theory, what System 3 have done with The James Pond Legacy is a good idea, following the style of the Crocopedia that Argonaut released and Atari 50 from Digital Eclipse and creating the Pondverse, an interactive history of James Pond where you can learn all about the series, the characters, their biographies, and more. Sure, it looks to me like Gen AI has been used there too, but thankfully the games have been left untouched.
The Collector's Edition of the game thankfully comes with reversible heritage artwork that you can flip over to remove the Gen AI images from your eyeline. That could be the only saving grace for this release. Ok, maybe the fact that it comes on a game card too and isn't a downloadable code, and the fact that it comes with 12 versions of the original games for the Amiga 500, Sega Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and Commodore 64 to play through.
James Pond Legacy: The Pond Is Not Enough will come with:
- James Pond: Underwater Agent
- James Pond 2: RoboCod
- James Pond 3: Operation Starfish
- The Aquatic Games Starring James Pond and the Aquabats
“System 3 has confirmed with [the PR team] that no generative AI was used to create the character artwork highlighted in the trailer. The Pondverse characters were produced through a human-led process beginning with the authentic James Pond pixel graphics.”
— Wetterschneider (@Stretchedwiener) August 20, 2026
Schrodinger's cow.… pic.twitter.com/Ruv7za7Owr
The game will be limited to 6,000 copies, which, considering the game cover, is a good thing. The first 1,000 copies will be available to pre-order for £59.99, and the remaining 5,000 will be priced at £69.99. Whether you think that's worth paying for four collectible art cards (one representing each game) and an exclusive F.I.5.H. secret-agent identification card, then that's down to you. I think I'll be playing these on the original consoles they were intended for and reliving the games that I loved back in the day with those same memories and covers.
What are your thoughts on The Pond Is Not Enough? Let us know below!
